


the contents of new beginnings

by crocustongues



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: But mostly fluff, Gen, Half-Brother!Roy, Post-Promised Day, Some angst, Stream of Consciousness, brotherly love only, rated T because of one (1) F-bomb i snuck in, self indulgent as heck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-29 13:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13927767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crocustongues/pseuds/crocustongues
Summary: In the time following the Promised Day, the brothers return home to Resembool and try to live their lives as best they can





	the contents of new beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't want to tag the ships because i didn't want them to show up in searches because ships aren't the focus of this fic, however, edling, winfan, and royai, all show up and it's a fun time
> 
> for julia casual avocados thank u for listening to me yelling about "What If Roy Was The Elrics' Older Brother" this was fun and im crying
> 
> for vi whomst i love w my entire heart and who recommended flowers in your hair by the lumineers for this fic and im truly grateful

It goes something like this:

A year or so passes by after the Promised Day and Al mentions in course of the conversation that he wants to get into gardening.

Both Ed and Roy consider the idea for a moment (both making the same ‘thinky face’, according to Al) as he kneels to scratch Den under the ears.

The thought is forgotten because in a flurry of exceedingly exaggerated _fuck you_ s (Edward) and last minute avoidance of duties (equal parts Alphonse and Roy), Ling finally drops by and Roy and Al share a quiet sort of solidarity in the crevices between the open-mouthed kisses between Ed and Ling and the silent, heartfelt touches between Winry and Lan Fan.

They’re at the dinner table, and the sky outside has gone dark with the promise of rain. Somewhere along the way, they’ve discovered they haven’t enough chairs to sit on. Ed and Pinako hover around the table, Ed grouses under his breath about Ling, as usual, and Ling, only smiles back, big and toothy and loving, as he puts a large portion of his rice in his mouth.

The phone rings.

Roy, the closest, puts it to his ear and goes still for a good thirty seconds. He nods once, twice, and says his goodbyes and puts the phone down.

“What’s up?” Ed asks, catching Roy’s stock-still figure.

Roy looks up and there’s a real, honest-to-goodness sparkle in his eyes when he says, “That was Ri—Lt. Hawkeye. She says she might come visit tomorrow.”

And just like that there’s a loud whoop of joy that goes around the table and Al could swear he’s never been happier.

The Lt. arrives, full of punctuality and military blues. First things first, she fills Roy in about the things he’s missed in the Central and only then, she’s introduced to everyone.

“And that,” Edward finishes, “is Den.”

And Riza smiles her softest smile, a look Roy _knows_ is only ever aimed at Black Hayate. 

(Although both Al and Ed have enough proof that, occasionally, it’s aimed at Roy himself).

 

»»————-　　————-««

 

It rains that day, and Roy’s already antsy, he’s wondering where everyone will fit, and he’s worried there isn’t enough food, and— _and—_

“Shut _up_ ,” Ed grumbles, “I can hear you thinking from upstairs.” There’s a beat of silence and Al—who’s climbed downstairs to see if Pinako needs help in the kitchen—is afraid for a second it’s going to end with nothing less than a punch and a kick, when Ed adds, “there’s nothing to worry about, it’s just Ling and Lan Fan and Lt. Hawkeye. So shut up and help out in the kitchen.”

The tension dissipates easily, and Al shoots a grateful and discreet thumbs-up to Ed, who only scrunches his nose in response.

Alphonse, for his part, _loves_ having people around. It’s a proper reunion, he says happily at the table and everyone drinks (orange juice and lemonade and beer) to that.

The rain’s gotten stronger and everyone’s distributed themselves among the bedrooms. Lan Fan and Winry, Ed and Ling, Roy and Al, and Riza, and Pinako. They’ve only _just_ managed to fit everyone and Roy’s heart heaves a sigh of relief.

Dinner had been a lively affair but now Alphonse finds himself outside, the raindrops falling on his head (real), his face (corporeal and movable and palpable), his hands (real flesh and blood and bones), palms outstretched. He stays like that until he hears Ed yelling for him, something along the lines of _get back in here before catch a fucking cold_ and Roy wraps him in a towel before telling him to know better, but holding him close, close, _close_.

 

»»————-　　————-««

 

Sometimes Al forgets this body is real and tangible, but when he does remember, he forgets this body is also _vulnerable_. Like the last time he’d stayed out in the rain and caught the flu and couldn’t get out of bed for three whole days; Winry and Ed and Roy had done everything they could to make him feel better. Or, when he fell off the roof he was trying to fix and all he could hear was Edward _screaming_ and Roy whispering cycles of _oh shit, oh shit_ under his breath before he passed out.

(He’d gotten yelled at and hugged within an inch of his life when he came to, broken arm fixed as if brand new).

There are upsides, he maintains firmly and fiercely, like Winry’s apple pie. There’s nothing, he would conclude when asked, that could beat the taste and smell and the sea of emotions he felt when he ate a slice (or two, or all).

 

»»————-　　————-««

 

The rain gets stronger, until it hammers against the roof and windows, and lightning cleaves the sky into two; Ed wakes up, short of breath and covered in goose pimples. There’s been a nightmare, and he sees himself at the Gate of Truth and he can _feel hands_ all over his body. He can see Truth’s mouth move and he catches a glimpse of his brother’s body—

( _It’s him, it’s him, it’s him_ )

—but this time, he doesn’t reach it in time, the Gate shuts and he’s left empty-handed and empty-hearted and he _wakes up_.

His eyes sting a little, joints aching, heart aching.

He makes to get off the bed, before realising Ling is holding on to him, hand in hand and legs curled around his own. He lays down again, and his breathing evens.

 

»»————-　　————-««

 

One room over, Roy wakes up, gasping for breath.

A nightmare. It’s him standing in the hellfire he’s created, but instead of the Ishvalans, it’s Edward and Alphonse, it’s Hughes and Havoc and the rest of them. It’s Riza.

_It’s him, it’s him, it’s him._

A hand clamps on his shoulder and he hears a voice he hopes to erase from his memory forever. Fuhrer Bradley speaks to him genially, congratulating his handiwork, and Roy wants the flames to char his hands to bits.

Someone screams and the hand on his shoulder turns out to be Al, and the screams, he finds, are his own.

Alphonse only hugs him, tight and close.

 

»»————-　　————-««

 

The days pass and things begin returning to normal. Ling and Lan Fan and Riza all say their goodbyes and promises are made; to visit Xing and the Central. Winry also takes her leave, she says she has loyal customers waiting for her back in Rush Valley.

(They almost don’t want to part Lan fan and Winry, standing forehead to forehead, and Ling and Al clutch at each other for emotional support, while off to the side, Ed and Roy stare at them in confusion).

Soon, it’s only Pinako and her boys in the house.

Alphonse mentions gardening again and Ed doesn’t object. He never has, when it comes to his little brother.

Roy, on the other hand, doesn’t know the first thing about gardening. He thinks the idea over and over, until one afternoon, Pinako and Ed return from the market with geranium seeds, he knows there’s nothing to do but plant them. Pinako offers them some shovels and points to the weediest area in the backyard to clear and they get to work.

The bed is cleared and Alphonse puts down his shovel in favour of using his hands (real and tangible and _his_ ) and Ed and Roy take a break and survey their work. Al digs his fingers deep in the soil and wiggles them around until he can feel the dirt lodge itself in the in-betweens of his nails.

 _Roy’s gonna be mad_ he thinks.

Roy, who crouches down next to Al, looks like someone intentionally peed in his morning coffee (which, to be fair, is something Ed’s been trying—and failing—to teach Den), takes a moment, swallows hard, and pats the soil in an attempt to begin digging.

Ed, who’s been watching, calls him out on it, laughing, and Roy, with clenched teeth, shoots back.

“You should use the shovel,” Al says, wriggling his fingers ( _real, real, real_ ).

Roy takes a break from scowling at Ed and breaks into something softer. Then, the smile drops into a grimace when he digs his hands in and picks up a lump of soil.

(Which, okay, he admittedly throws at Ed, but he’s grinning, and so is Ed, and Al’s positively beaming).

There’s something poetic, Ed thinks, drinking the last of his water, about Roy planting flowers with his little brothers, so close to where he razed several thousand. He immediately backtracks because metaphor or not, this was _Roy_ , who didn’t _need_ poetry or pity or other words that sounded condescending. He shrugs and joins them, fully prepared to shower Roy with dirt (and a bug or two, if he can find any).

Al takes a deep breath, taking in the scent of damp earth, and smiles at his brothers’ squabbling, and closes his eyes.

It’s like a wish he made ages ago has decided to come true. The family and the body he’d wished for have returned, perhaps in another shape than he’d left them.

But he’s _content_.

**Author's Note:**

> i know u have questions but consider: so do i
> 
> consider leaving a comment so i can cry i'm rewatching fmab so clearly i have Feelings
> 
> (twt: @floralsonnets // tumblr: @iceandbrimstone)


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